Erick Green, Nick Johnson battle to be Nuggets’ third point guard

Erick Green battles Sacramento guard Andre Miller for a loose ball in a game last season. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The competition within the game is between two, talented, young players.

In the end, there can only be one.

The battle for the final roster spot is being played out between two second-year players, guards Erick Green and Nick Johnson. The Nuggets will carry a third point guard on the team, and these two are vying for that spot.

While the situation may be stressful to the players involved, the Nuggets can’t choose wrong either way.

Both are more than capable of making the roster. Green is already familiar with the organization, having been acquired by the Nuggets in the second round of the 2013 NBA draft. Green has steadily improved since officially joining Denver last season, culminating this year in a strong summer league and early training camp, which has drawn praise from coach Michael Malone. Green’s Per 36s from last season (12.8 points, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals) are solid.

Nick Johnson. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

Johnson, meanwhile, has cut his chops on the defensive end, both in college at Arizona and in his one season in the NBA. He joined the Nuggets as the only player retained by the team in the July trade with Houston for point guard Ty Lawson. His Per 36s with the Rockets were 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals.

Finances won’t be a huge separating factor.

The money is negligible — Johnson and Green both will make $845,000 this season. The differences come in contracts. Green’s is not guaranteed until the annual Jan. 10 date in which all contracts become guaranteed. Johnson’s, meanwhile, is guaranteed right now.

It doesn’t mean, however, that gives him a leg up.

Should the Nuggets feel that they want to keep Green, then they could simply search for a trade for Johnson, who has a good name across the league. Or they could come to a buyout agreement. Should the Nuggets want to keep Johnson, there is the option to simply release Green because of his non-guaranteed money, but the history of this management team says they would attempt to move him first.

And for that reason, don’t expect to hear too many superlatives thrown out in favor of one player over the other, in order to keep all trade options alive.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone praised both during the first week of practices, saying “Erick Green is playing great basketball,” and then “Nick Johnson is a helluva defender and athlete.”

Neither got much of a chance to show anything in the Nuggets first preseason game. Green played nine minutes and Johnson didn’t play at all.

Both, however, are in line for ample opportunity to prove their respective cases.

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.